Spring Cleaning & Getting Ready to Sell Your Home

It might only be the beginning of April, but if you’re thinking of selling your home, the time to start spring cleaning is now.

Decluttering, organizing, and cleaning your home is one of the very first steps in the home selling process. It should be done before you list your property (so your photos show the home in its best light!)—and definitely long before buyers start popping up at your door.

You want your home to be a clean palette for potential buyers—one they can envision themselves living their lives in. This means you’ll want to:

• De-personalize – Take down your personal photos and artwork, and keep the décor to a minimum. A few vases of flowers, simple shelves, and basic throw rugs are fine, but anything super unique or specific to your family, you’ll want to keep tucked away until you move.
• Make room – Buyers want space—for their things, for their loved ones, and for their lives, both now and in the future. Maximize the available space in your home by clearing out closets, cupboards and shelves, and removing any furniture you don’t want or immediately need. The more spacious it looks, the better.
• Clean from top to bottom – No one wants to move into a home that’s dirty, grimy, or covered in dust, so bring in a pro to give your home a comprehensive deep cleaning. Make sure they wipe down the walls, light plates, door handles, and all the little things a potential buyer is likely to see. You should even clean the oven and inside appliances, as you never know where a buyer might look.
• Trim and tidy the yard – Well-kept, low-maintenance yards are a huge selling point for most buyers, so do your best to make your lawn look as such. Keep it trimmed, edged, and weeded the entire time it’s on the market, and if you have the resources, add a few potted flowers or plants for an extra pop of color.
• Pre-pack – If you know moving is on the radar, go ahead and start packing the items you don’t immediately need. Put them in boxes or storage bins in a neat stack in your garage, or go ahead and move them to your new place if it’s possible. This will maximize the space in your home and make it even easier for buyers to see themselves living on the property. (It will also make your future move more efficient, too!)

Use these spring cleaning tips to prep your home for a fast, lucrative sale. And when you’re ready to buy that next property? Contact Embrace. We’ll help you get the loan you need to make it happen.